I'm wondering what was typical of Kustoms in the early 60's, specifically. Were mild customs a thing of the past? I have a hard time imagining that they all had bubble tops and psychadelic paint jobs. The reason I ask is that I have a chance to buy a 413 motor for my chopped 41 Plymouth. Being an early 60's engine I'm thinking of taking the whole car in an early 60's direction, but am not at all fond of the cartoonish Ratfink looking things that are typical (or stereotypical?) of the time. Pictures of sane looking rods and customs from that time would also be much appreciated.
From my experience, meaning what I see, is that in the sixties most 40s rigs were heavily customized to keep pace with the "space craze" going on. You start to see radiused wheel wells, fender flares, side pipes of all sizes/lengths/combinations, bumper removal and replaced with nerf bars, "coves", severe sectioning, etc. If it were me, I'd go with a mid-to-late fifties or earlier build with an updated powerplant. Unless you want to have the whole build be "era" correct. I'm sure there are some clean 60s builds and I'll find some examples of the 60s "workingman's custom" but as far as memorable stuff I think of Watson paint, Roth builds, Cushenberry.........mmmm quad headlights (said with a Homer-esque blank stare on my face)..........
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